Derby Talk

Derby Talk is a forum for Pinewood Derby, Awana Grand Prix, Kub Kar Rally, Shape N Race Derby, Space Derby, Raingutter Regatta and other similar races where a child and an adult work together to create a race vehicle and a lot of fun and memories

I have been thinking of making wooden axles with a solid 0.5" rod by routing a 0.5" diameter groove into two 28" 1 x 4 and then gluing the three pieces together. I would use epoxy in the groove to bond wood to steel and TiteBond III to glue the top and bottom wood pieces together. If clamped and allowed to cure, the axle would be stronger than a 2 x 4 version. Has anyone tried something like this? It would seem to make the issue of axle alignment go away and would be stronger and cheaper than trying to mount a short solid rod on each end of the 2 x 4 axle.

We have not had District races here for the past seven years, but have one planned for Spring 2008. My Pack and a few others are building cars this Fall and will hold a joint race as a tune-up in early November. I have built a prototype car using the BSA plans as the base and am working on building the ramp now. The axle with lag bolts seems to be the weak link structurally. It will also be hard for lots of dens to get the holes drilled straight. Not eveyone has a floor standing drill press in their garage.